storytelling through food

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Monthly Archives: November 2013

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In 2005, Tim Westergren introduced the online world to the music genome project. Little known then, this ad-subsidized radio station would play music in tune with your mood and taste. Simply key in a single song or single artist into to field and the next thing you might say is “Wow. I did not know I liked Boy George. Or Celine Dion. Who knew?” The emotional power behind this work lies in careful analytics. Hundreds of thousands of songs are decomposed into […]

What is worth more? The signature or the signature dish? A perfectly realized recipe or the hand that made it? The history of fine art is littered with copycats. Skilled technicians who don the robes of the master and flick brushes in their unmistakable style. Dig deep enough and you can find art scholars stand in famous museums and debunk paintings hanging in the gallery. Rembrandt and Reubens are two giants whose works regularly fall under such inspection. Such is […]

“After a while I murmured to Picasso that I liked his portrait of Gertrude Stein. Yes, he said, everybody says that she does not look like it but that does not make any difference, she will, he said.” ― Gertrude Stein, The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas Picasso’s paintings strike with an unforgiving savageness. He paints raw truth in sharp relief. And sometimes his words carry that same poison tip. The quote about Ms. Stein opens the door for artists to decouple […]

Street festivals invite experimentation. They feed curiosity. Stall after stall, hand-crafted goods sparkle under incandescent lights which are strung together with a single wire. These soon-to-be presents beg to be taken home and shared with loved ones. Southern Germany and Austria has perfected this tradition with their Christkindlmarkt. In the walk up to Christmas, people wander the crowded plazas in the evening, seeking that one thing. Eyes scan through bright colors and inviting shapes. Hands dart outside the protection of […]